In the past, numerous targeting scenarios have been investigated. Usually, laser radar data is recorded of a target or scene that is obscured by foliage, camouflage netting, or other obscurations. The data acquisition process is repeated for the same target, but from different locations, or view-points. A frequency-modulated ladar can be used to study the problem and record multi-aspect laser radar imagery.
One of the most straightforward techniques for registering 3D data is to calculate the actual physical location of the voxels in each data set. Other researchers have successfully “stitched together” multi-aspect laser radar data by this technique. A potential drawback of this straightforward method is the necessity for precise positioning information, such as the location of the laser radar transceiver at the time of acquisition, the location of some object clearly visible in the scene, and/or the precise pointing direction of the acquisition system. Precise and absolute positioning information may be difficult to acquire, require special equipment, or simply not be available in some cases. For this reason and others, purely databased registration techniques are being developed for three-dimensional data sets. Researchers from Sarnoff Corporation have successfully registered multi-aspect laser radar data sets of occluded objects with a technique that is data-driven and automatic.
A key aspect of the general concept is the capability to register and combine the three-dimensional data without the difficulties of using special equipment or not being able to acquire the data at all. Therefore, there is a need in the art to overcome these difficulties.